Nintendo responds to Wii U criticisms

The Wii U has had a positive launch in terms of sales, but the new console has seen a fair amount of criticism regarding its massive 5 GB launch day update and online capabilities.

Nintendo of America COO Reggie Fils-Aime has addressed the concerns raised by the negative feedback.

“That creates a dynamic where our developers are working on elements until the very last point possible,” Fils-Aime said. “That’s why the system update was required on day one; and this is quite similar to what’s happened with other consumer electronic products.”

FIls-Aime also mentioned that Wii Us which ship in 2013 will likely have to update applied to the consoles.

As for the unflattering hardware reviews of the console, Fils-Aime defended the Wii U’s capabilities and features.

“Reviews of a system or review of a game really come down to the quality and capability of the reviewer,” he said, adding that other data shows that users are flocking to the system and enjoying it.

“When I go on Miiverse and see how consumers are reacting to games like ZombieU or…Call of Duty, that tells me we’re doing something very, very positive,” he said. “Similarly, when I go on other consumer social networks and see other consumer reaction that is positive, I know we’ve done well.”

Fils-Aime also said that early problems with the Miiverse will not spring up during the busy holiday season.

“Without getting into a lot of technical details, the Miiverse [problem] was not purely driven by capacity,” he said. “That gives us confidence that come Christmas morning, those servers will not be challenged in the same way. Come Christmas morning, the Wii U will be available globally. We know there will be a lot of consumers utilizing their Wii U for the very first time. So we’re working very hard to make sure the initial customer experience is a good one.”